


The Life and Times of Runner Five.

by Ryusui



Category: Zombies Run!
Genre: F/M, Female Runner Five, One Shot Collection, Probably Spoilers through Season 3, Season 2 spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-19
Updated: 2016-04-19
Packaged: 2018-06-03 04:48:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,805
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6597385
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ryusui/pseuds/Ryusui
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of one-shots detailing the exploits and doings of one Cassandra Sheppard, though everyone just calls her Runner Five.  Mostly Runner Five/Sam Yao, because there is simply not enough love for them in the world.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**A Hard Day's Night**

 

 

 

Runner Five's heart slammed on her ribs, her diaphragm had been screaming in pain for the last ten minutes, and her legs felt like empty tanks. But the sorrowful voice in her ear, and the soft red light that loomed ever closer made her continue to pump her arms and legs.

“A couple of zoms have arrived at the gates, and that usually means the bigger horde is on its way. Maybe only a few minutes till we bar the gate.”

For the what felt like the hundredth time Five cursed the fact that the scanners were down, she was pretty sure she was close enough now that Sam would've been able to pick her up by now, even in the dark.

“Keep the gates open Sam,” she rasped with a harsh gulp of hair, “I'm almost home Sam, I'm almost home.” She also cursed the fact that they still hadn't bothered to fix her transponder so she could actually talk back to Sam.

“Another good runner gone, another piece of equipment lost.”

There was something so horribly wrong to Five about the way Sam sounded. Cheery, sometimes overly loud and descriptive Sam, should never sound so resigned, so defeated, so tired.

“I'm coming Sam,” she rasped again, “Just keep the gates open. Please, please keep the gates open.”

“Maybe the next time I see you, I'll have to shoot you in the head.”

_Like the last runner Five_ . The words were unspoken but heard nonetheless by Five, “No Sam. No, no, no, no. Not like that, not like this.” 

But Sam's dark ramblings continued. Where before Sam had been philosophical, wistful, and regretful in his musings before, now Five could hear that Sam was just lost. He was going down the path that they all had to strive against now and again; the path that made one question what the value of their life, or any life was at this point, when so much was just survival and pain.

As she listened, she vowed to say everything she now knew Sam needed to hear. That his parents would be so proud of how he keeps people alive, keeps them sane. That remembering what we had was important no matter how painful it could be at times. That someone would remember him. That  _they_ there the lucky ones. The one who still breathed, suffered, loved, and fought. 

“Keep the gates open Sam.” She rasped one more time as the walls of Abel finally came into view at the bottom of the hill she had just topped, “Just a minute more.”

Then, she heard it, someone saying something to Sam, something that confused him, this his gasp of sheer surprised joy.

“Oh, oh my god! Is, is that you!?”

Five wanted to whoop for joy, but she was too short of breath, she just kept running. A new life shooting through her muscles like a shot of adrenaline.

“Runner Five! I can see you!”

Five lifted one clenched fist over her head and pumped it three times before putting on a burst of speed dredged up from her exhausted muscles. She knew the group Sam had mentioned earlier was right behind her, but already cover fire was coming from the walls of Abel and the flashing red light that signaled the gate being activated.

“Run! Run, Runner Five, Run! Raise the gates!” The last sound she heard from her transponder headset was a clunky sound like something being knocked over followed by a door slamming.

She had to duck her head to clear the gate as she came in, her body stuck in a survival mode that didn't let her slow down enough to wait for the gate to rise. All around her she could her whoops and cries of joy and relief from the gate operators, and from the barracks she could see Dr. Myers coming out, trying to rub sleep from her eyes as she made her way over. But her eyes inevitably wandered over to that poor excuse of a shed they kept him in, and sure enough Sam burst out the door, hair wild and eyes wilder.

Five's weight shifted and her feet began to turn. She had a trajectory again, a destination, a goal. As Sam stood there outside his shack, looking at her in astonishment, all the words she had thought about saying to him flashed through her head like lightning bolts, all too bright and too fast to grasp. When she had finally made it to him however, all the words vanished and she simply grabbed two handfuls of his worn out sweater and kissed him for all her worn out body was worth.

This only lasted a couple seconds however, as whatever crisis mode that had kept her going the last mile finally gave out, along with her legs.

“Whoa! Steady there!” Sam blurted as he figured out what was going on and struggled to hold her up, even her grip on his sweater was now going limp as her muscles turned her from a runner into a deadweight. Even her head fell forward as the weight of it seemed to somehow triple instantly “Steady, steady.” He said more quietly once he got a decent grip around her waist and under one arm.

“She's probably beyond exhausted.” Came the sympathetic tones of Dr. Myers from behind them, but Five couldn't even open her eyes at this point. “Still, need to check her for bites and anything else. Think you can carry her to the infirmary Sam?”

“Ah, what? Oh, yeah, sure, um,” A long finger tilted her head back so she looked up into Sam's dark eyes, “That okay with you? Me carrying you, I mean.”

Five nodded, using what seemed like a titanic amount of energy to reach up and sling her arms around Sam's neck as he pulled her close and stood up, carrying her like she were a sleepy child.

Five wouldn't say she passed out after that point, but she was so far out of it during Dr. Myer's exam she might as well have been. She looked this way and that when told, lifted a shaking arm or leg when needed, but she never opened her eyes, hovering tediously on the line between consciousness and unconsciousness. Finally the requests to move stopped coming and she was laid down. It felt blissful.

“Hey, Five?” Sam's voice penetrated the fog of drowsiness and Five forced herself to open her eyes. She was greeted by the sight of Sam looming over her, a sleepy and dopey smile on his face as he reached down to stroke her choppy short hair.

“Hey there, I know you want to rest, but I don't think Dr. Myer's exam table is the best bed ever. Think you can make it to the barracks? He asked softly. Five simply shook her head. She wasn't going anywhere now. And neither, her half functioning brain decided, was Sam. An arm awkwardly groped out to grab Sam's shoulder, tugging with all the force of a two year old, but Sam seemed to get the message somehow.

“You want me to, um, em, you sure?” He asked, his voice colored a tone that Five knew meant Sam was hoping with all his heart he wasn't misunderstanding something, but thought he probably was.

Five gave his shoulder another yank and Sam did his best to delicately crawl onto the exam table next to her. He settled on his side next to her so her head was partially tucked into his shoulder. His warm presence next to her felt so nice that she snuggled into Sam, completely oblivious to his surprise.

“Wow, um, you cozy there? Nice and cozy?” He asked, Five was completely oblivious to the tone of his voice that screamed confusion. She simply nodded, then scooted her head so it was by his ear.

“I'm proud of you Sam. And you're parents are too. You saved my life, you brought me home.” She muttered, feeling herself finally surrender to sleep. “And my name is Cassandra. I didn't want to tell you before because you were so sad when Alice died I thought it'd be easier to just think of me as Runner Five,” she drifted off for a moment before she gathered herself enough to finish, “But now I want to be remembered as Cassandra, not Runner Five.”

“Right, right, Cassandra. That's, that's a pretty name. Cassandra.” Sam stuttered as Five, Cassandra, gave a final soft sigh as she fell asleep, her breath finally becoming soft and even.

 


	2. There will be no shelter here

**There Will Be No Shelter Here**

 

 

It had been a long run back to New Canton with the information from Lem's house. Not because of the distance, but knowing the charade the leaders in New Canton were going to make Runner Five participate in once she arrived. A charade for the benefit of everyone but her, the person who was wronged.

Sam, somehow knowing her silence was a tense one instead of her normal contented silence, buzzed on comfortingly in her ear on a private channel. Telling her about things happening at Abel, making his silly puns and generally agreeing with her unspoken sentiment that this whole thing was a load of horse shit.

“I mean, the woman tries to kill you, and their solution is that you go and do something nice for her? Shouldn't it be the other way around? Like, she should have to do something to earn your forgiveness? Oh! Oh! How about this, she has to go on a run with you as her operator!”

Runner Five chuckled, that particular scenario held a lot of appeal. Even Sam admitted that sitting safe in a control room possibly miles away desensitized them to the danger the runners were often in. It'd be nice for Nadia to taste the sharp bile that rises in your throat when you realize just what deep shit you are in.

“Right, almost there. Permanent Advisory Council wants meeting with Nadia to discuss what we found and her possible reinstatement.” Esteban commented, earning a disdainful look from Runner Five.

“You say that like there's a chance she won't be.” Runner Five said.

Esteban shrugged and explained, “You're allowed to raise an objection under the agreement from the Peace Summit, when it comes to crimes you have the same standing as a citizen of New Canton.”

Runner Five simply nodded, hearing the unspoken words. She could raise an objection, but it likely would fall on mostly deaf ears. Nadia's importance had been explained to her, and as long as she made a big sobby show of being sorry for what she had done, Nadia would be back in the control room by the end of the week.

“You going to say anything? Object to her reinstatement?” Sam asked in her ear.

“I'll say something alright,” Runner Five murmured darkly so only Sam could hear her.

“Just be sure to keep it mostly civil,” Sam cautioned, “I'd hate for us to have to put you under house arrest because you started a kerfuffle over there.”

“I know what I'm doing Sam, no kerfuffles.” Runner Five replied, and she heard Sam sigh in reply.

“Just, be safe Cass.” He said, and Runner Five nodded, they were about to enter New Canton's gate.

The room that Esteban lead her to was a small conference room that looked like it had seen much better days. The floor was clean enough, but the black office chairs were worn and cracked, bits of stuffing coming out in places, and the table Runner Five imagined once gleamed was riddled with burns, stains and cracks of various sizes. Seated in these chairs at this table were Eileen and Bernard, the New Canton Permanent Advisory Council, and a splotchy faced Nadia. When Runner Five and Esteban entered the room the mousy woman looked up and recoiled from the sight of Five, like she had seen a ghost.

“We have here the notes and supplies recovered from Lem's house.” Esteban spoke, breaking the tense silence. He placed one of the filled duffel bags on the table, Runner Five followed suit and put her bag beside it.

“You've done well Runners.” Eileen said carefully, “This is a lot of supplies, I understand it was a bit of a hairy escape as well?”

“Yes, fortunately Lem seemed to a well prepared man in all things.” Esteban said, this statement earned a choking sob from Nadia, who seemed to be only just holding herself together.

“Yes, that sounds like him.” Bernard said, trying for a warmth of speech that fell flat in the tense room.

Eileen demonstrated no such pretenses, “We do of course have another serious matter at hand. Nadia Petrov has been under house arrest since the incident with Runner Five and the Dedlocks. While we believe her offense is indeed serious, she has expressed a desire to atone for her mistakes, and seek forgiveness.”

At this cue Nadia forced herself to look up at Runner Five. Nadia's eyes were bloodshot from crying, her nose and cheeks red as cherries, but the rest of her skin beneath was very pale, she almost seemed to shake as she looked into Runner Five's cool eyes.

“I'm, I'm so sorry.” She finally stuttered out, “What I did, what I did was so wrong. And I, I know that-”

“Can I say something?” Runner Five interrupted, looking at Eileen and Bernard. They looked surprised, clearly not expecting Runner Five to speak until the conclusion of Nadia's tearful apology.

“Um, yes, of course.” Bernard said, and Runner Five took a step forward.

“I understand Nadia's importance to New Canton. I understand that she was a good operator with a lot of prior experience. But I want you to understand something,” at this Runner Five paused to look around the room, making eye contact with each person. “What Nadia did was first-degree attempted murder. It was premeditated, as evidenced by the fact that she told me from the very beginning of the run that I was to go to an area that she knew was extremely dangerous. She made a substantial effort to see her murder through, she only did not succeed because an Able operator intervened. When her plan was revealed, she did not express remorse, only that I should know her pain, know the fear she experienced when Lem saved her.”

Five was interrupted by another loud sob from Nadia, but after a moment she continued. “I don't know what the sentence would have been here in the UK before the Fall, but in the United States someone convicted of such a crime would face a minimum of fifteen years, with a possible life sentence depending on the jurisdiction.” Five paused to let that hang in the air a moment before continuing, “And you will be allowing Nadia to return to her life as it was after three weeks of house arrest.” Five then turned back to Nadia, her eyes as hard and as blue as arctic ice, the other woman shriveled further under this icy scrutiny.

“You sought to punish me because I lived and he died. I can understand your grief, your pain, your anger, and I can forgive them. I cannot forgive that you would have left Able short an experienced runner when we were vulnerable, and leave Sam roiling in guilt and grief over my death, all to satisfy your own wound. Find absolution elsewhere.”

With that, Five turned on her heel and strode out of the room, ice in her spine and Nadia's wailing cries in her ears.

“Wow...” Sam said in her ear after a minute. “That was HARSH. Fair, absolutely fair and deserved, but harsh. You really know how to dish it out, Five. 'Find absolution elsewhere,' that sounds like something out of a movie!”

Five shrugged, “My brother was kind of a nut for Arnold Schwarzenegger and Steven Segal movies. He often was trying to come up with his own one-liners, guess it rubbed off.”

She could see Sam bob a nod in her mind's eye as he replied, “Fair enough. You coming on home then? Or are you going to back track and see what they actually do?”

Five sighed, walking back toward New Canton's main gate as she said, “They'll do what they planned on doing all along, I just wanted to make them squirm about it.”

“Well, I'll see you in a little bit then Five. I have some curly whurlies here with your name on them.”

Runner Five smirked at Sam's words, she didn't doubt that he had some of the aforementioned candies in the coms shack with him, but that phrase generally meant Sam had something _else_ planned for Five's arrival. “Sounds good Sam. See you soon.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I don't know about anyone else, but I felt Nadia got off super light for essentially attempted murder. I also felt that Runner Five would have had something to say about it, so there you go.

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, another "Voice in the Dark" fic, but I promise I'll cover other things. This is simply the episode where I totally and utterly fell in love with Sam, and I think Runner Five did too.


End file.
